Take the Ride: The Benefits of a Medical Sales Preceptorship
For those unfamiliar with the term, “preceptorship” is just another way of talking about job shadowing, which is the process of spending time with a professional as they execute their job in order to better understand what they do. It’s also called a ride-along, which gives you an idea of the day or days spent with your pro, riding along to different sites as they perform their job. If you want to launch your career in medical sales, there’s no better way to get a feel for the daily hustle of the job than participating in a ride-along with a seasoned pro.
If you’re looking at a career in medical sales, it’s likely you’ve gotten a science degree, or at least achieved a minor in science and studied the area more than the minimum amount needed to graduate. Yes, it’s not a legal requirement to have a science degree to go into medical sales, but the more you know about the field, the better you’ll be able to understand the products you’re selling and the way they can benefit doctors and patients. Talk with your professors or academic counselors about getting in touch with a medical sales rep, or do some legwork and call local hospitals to find out the names of reps that call on them.
Getting in touch with rep is the first step in landing a preceptorship. When you’re on your ride-along, ask questions of your mentor but also follow instructions about how and when to interact. It’s likely you’ll need to stay quiet when your rep is actually dealing with clients and trying to make a sale, and that’s fine. The purpose of the day (or days) spent shadowing a professional is to absorb the ins and outs of the job, not act as if you know it already. If you play your cards right, a successful preceptorship can benefit you in several ways:
Firsthand experience: This is vital. Instead of knowing the theory behind medical sales, a ride-along lets you see it in practice and understand what the job really entails. You’ll come away with knowledge of the real job, not the mythological version you may have built up in your head. As such, you’ll be able to start your career knowing exactly what you need to do to get the job done.
Pros and cons: A preceptorship is the perfect way to know exactly how the job will work for you and what upsides and downsides you will face. A Medical sale is a challenging but rewarding career, built on the ever-changing health care industry, and there’s no better way to see what the job really entails than a ride-along.
Contacts: Participating in a preceptorship is a fantastic way to grow your field of professional contacts and develop yourself as a new sales rep. By establishing a good relationship with the sales rep you’re shadowing as well as the clients you meet along the way, you’ll be setting yourself up for more professional opportunities when you’re out on your own. And don’t forget that a ride-along looks great on a resume, demonstrating that you’ve spent time in the real sales world and have a better grasp of the job than someone who’s only studied it from afar.
A preceptorship is an invaluable training tool and a great way to help your career get started. If you haven’t participated in one yet, now’s the time.
This guest post is contributed by Katheryn Rivas, who writes on the topics of accredited online universities . She welcomes your comments at her email Id: katherynrivas87@gmail.com .
Written by Peggy McKee - the medical sales recruiter
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